International University Arabic Debating Championship Comes to an Impressive Close

International University Arabic Debating Championship Comes to an Impressive Close

Publication Date:

16 Jun 2015

Category:

News

Held under the patronage of HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairman of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the third International University Arabic Debating Championship came to a remarkable close. The championship featured 67 teams from 63 universities and 33 Arab and non-Arab countries.

Held under the patronage of HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairman of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the third International University Arabic Debating Championship came to a remarkable close. The championship featured 67 teams from 63 universities and 33 Arab and non-Arab countries.

The closing ceremony of the Championship organized by Qatar Debate, member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, took place at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) in the presence of Engineer Jassim Telefat, Group Executive Director of Qatar Foundation Capital Projects and Facilities Management; Dr Hayat Marafi, Executive Director of QatarDebate; Mr Essa al-Mannai, Executive Director of Reach Out to Asia; Dr Omar al-Ansari, QU Vice President; and the ambassadors of some of the countries participating in the event.

In her speech delivered during the closing ceremony, Dr Hayat Marafi announced the launch of the Pioneers of Debate Award granted to educational institutions striving to promote the culture of debate and achieve the vision of the QatarDebate Center in forming the leaders of the future. Kuwait University won the award in recognition of its prominent role in spreading the culture of debate among its students and university students in Kuwait. Moreover, the award highlights Kuwait University’s contribution to founding debate clubs, organizing faculty competitions and national championships and supporting the youth to become the leaders of tomorrow. Kuwait University’s win is also a testimony of the wise and capable leadership of Professor Dr. Hayat Nasser Al Hajji and the Dean of Students Affairs Dr. Abdulrahim bin Saleh Diab who is both a leader and a father to Kuwait debaters and debate teams.

Dr. Marafi also appointed Qatari student Youssef Fakhro as a new ambassador for QatarDebate in recognition of his important role in spreading the culture of debating at the University of Utah, USA.

In her speech, Dr. Hayat Marafi expressed how pleasantly surprised she was by the level of knowledge and education displayed by Arab youth, especially those participating in the championship. She was equally satisfied at their ability to invest their knowledge and use logical and convincing arguments in debates.

Dr. Marafi spoke with pride about the Arab heritage, and noted the musicality of the Arabic language conveyed so eloquently and gracefully by the debaters throughout the championship. She spoke of how humbling yet heartwarming it is to see non-Arabs fighting for their right to learn Arabic, to delve into the depth of its history and culture and to master the language of Islam and the Holy Koran so the gates of Heaven open before them.

Dr. Marafi announced that the difficult years are now behind the Arabic language with the emergence of 300 new leaders carrying the motto “In Arabic we express ourselves, through debate we achieve our goals”. It is a new, important beginning that will make a difference in our lives.

She called upon the participants to use debating as a cultural act and employ the skills and techniques it offers to build enabling and constructive human settings that nurture personal and social growth. She stressed the importance of debate in any of the world’s languages, and urged the students to familiarize themselves with Arabic letters and their correct context within their daily lives so that Arabic becomes once again a pioneer language of life.

Dr. Marafi extended thanks to Qatar Foundation for its invaluable support to the Center. She also thanked HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al Thani, Vice Chairman of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development for her generous patronage, and Engineer Saad bin Ibrahim al-Muhannadi, QF President for the unwavering support he extends to center and the youth.

Dr. Marafi also thanked all those who contributed towards the success of the Championship, including Qatar Airways- the official carrier, local and international judges, their respective schools and universities, the media, the Department of Communications at QF and all other departments concerned. She also thanked QMDI, the volunteers, the QNCC crew, as well as all participating countries and the outstanding staff at QatarDebate.

The ceremony was presented by the exceptional debater Muhammad Ellakhn al-Marri who announced the names of winners and thanked all those who contributed to the success of the championship.

Towards the end of the ceremony, the championship highlights were shown in a short video after which Engineer Jassim Telefat and Dr Hayat Marafi honored the championship winners in the different categories including for the first time the non- Arabic speakers. The winners in that category were Muhammad Azwan bin Qamareddin who ranked first, followed by Yehya Youssef Omar, Carolina, Muhammad Muqtada and Yerdus Khamitov.

The Championship top ten debaters were also honored and they are in order of ranking Ali al-Zarouki from Qatar University, Muna Omar Muhammad Hassan from University of Khartoum, Nadia Lutfi Darwich from Qatar University, Rami Othman Ibrahim Othman from University of Khartoum, Mohammad bin al-Habib al-Marid from Tunis El Manar University, Maryam Ali al-Hajri from Qatar University, Lutfi Baraka from Qatar University, Sara Ahmad Abdul Rahman al-Nour from Qatar University, Fatma al Zahraa Ali al-Salabi from Qatar University and Muhammed al-Mustafa Youssef Ibrahim from Qatar University.

Kuwait University’s Pioneers of Debate Award was handed to Professor Dr. Hayat Al Hajji, director of Kuwait University and to the Deanship of Student Affairs team.

The State of Qatar won the third edition of the International University Arabic Debating Championship after the victory of Qatar University women’s team against Tunis El Manar University in the final debate. The winning team gave a memorable performance that earned it the well-deserved title.

Two other teams from Qatar University won the third and fourth positions.